Lesson 59: 2013 Goals

Disclaimer: I just finished reading three friends' (moms') blogs, all regarding their New Year goals ... all written nine days late. I feel as though I am posting right on time.

My sister-in-law gave me a book over Christmas entitled, FIVE. Subtitle: Where will you be five years from today? The cover has a giant number 5 on it, and it's full of inspirational quotes and penetrating questions concerning the future. It gives guidance towards accomplishing goals and relates personal success stories. I'll copy just one part as it is concerns my alma mater.

"According to Dave Kohl, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech, people who regularly write down their goals earn nine times as much over their lifetimes as the people who don't, and yet 80% of Americans say they don't have goals. Sixteen percent do have goals, but they don't write them down. Less than four percent write down their goals, and fewer than one percent actually review them on an ongoing basis. Guess which one percent?"

Did you catch that? The most successful people in the world write down their goals and regularly review them! Good work blogging moms who are my friends mentioned in my disclaimer. You will one day rule the world. (Or at least achieve more that you desire over the course of your life than the rest of population).




In hopes of pleasing my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, I have decided to write out my 2013 goals. These are this years goals and do not really pertain to the five-year goal track or the life-goal track. Listing all those would make the post way too long.

Before I give you the list though, I'd like to add one point from the book for my goal-writing friends that I have found helpful. None of you have said this yet, I don't think.

There is a specific section which has you list five people who will help you achieve your goals. It is important to have support, accountability, and encouragement.

Alright, 2013 ... here we go.

1. Graduate seminary: As of today I am 15 credits short of a Masters of Arts in Biblical Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary. This is five classes. I also have to pass the English Bible Exam. I have exactly 136 days until graduation. I'd like to not only finish, but finish strong.

2. Practice Good Dental Hygiene: As you may have read here, December was an expensive month for my teeth. In the Lord's providence, I have been given a husband who flosses every single night. He has been nightly handing me my piece of floss as well, and I am now a daily flosser. We also just got Sonicare (post to follow). My hope is that our 2013 bill will be significantly lower.

3. Buy a Painting: I don't know if it's come across in this blog, but I love to decorate my house. I've been saving to buy an original Charlotte-related painting as a graduation present / remembrance for Mark and I. Paintings are not cheap! Thus, I have been selling small items here and there on craigslist and am hoping that by May, I will have saved up enough, non-necessary money to purchase one!

4. Cut Internet Usage in Front of Samara: I won't go on a full-fledged rant here, but I hate seeing kids playing with iphones. I could probably devote an entire blog to my lack of love for mixing children and technology. That being said, though I don't allow Samara to use my computer, I am often on the computer in front of her. All this does is increase her desire to be on the computer as well. I only have a couple of years left with her. I want them to be spent with us doing things together in person, not with her watching me learn about blogging. (She's napping right now.)

5. Continue with the Monthly Meal Plan: Y'all this has really worked. It has had some issues, as in, Mark still does the majority of the cooking. However, he really doesn't mind as long as I buy the ingredients and give him the recipe. We have been eating and receiving lots of stickers. The hope is to keep it up in 2013!

6. Get Ourselves a Will: If we both die, well, it is just totally up in the air who would get our kids and our assets (a.k.a. our 1998 4-runner). Apparently this doesn't take long, it just needs to happen.

7. Read the Bible in a Year: I have never gotten past January with one of these, and welp, it's 1/9 and I haven't started yet. However, there are some programs that send the daily reading to your email. I check my email every day. It is a super lame way to be reminded, but well, I need to be reminded and am hoping to cover Genesis right on through Revelation this year.

8. Exercise Once I'm Done Nursing: This goal will be relevant three weeks from today. I have not consistently exercised since college ... seven years ago. I tried exercising and nursing, and it pretty much just put me in bed. Please, do not tell me I'm wrong about this and that exercising will give me energy. You do not have my body! That being said, I would like to start again when I no longer have another person receiving the majority of their sustenance from me. The goal will be to do something three times a week starting February 2.

9. Increase Our Gardening Efforts: We will try again for the herbs, and maybe consider tomatoes and cucumbers. I hear these grow, but hmmm, with us, you never know.

10. Generic goals: Continue to cut extraneous sugar. Buy steel cut oatmeal. Pick up my clothes more often. Do more loads of laundry. Read to Hudson more. He is so active, I usually just end up wrestling him. Try to call people on their birthdays, send cards, or at least do a facebook shout-out. Do things that make Mark smile. Drink more water. Send my mom more pictures of my children. Spend more time outside.

Happy New Year friends!

Lesson Learned: We shall see if this goal setting agenda yields the desired results.